Strain gauge for rolling mills and the like



lJunel 29, 1943. B. A wnTKul-iNv 'E1' Al. 2,323,257

STRAIN GAUGE FIOR ROLLING MILLS AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 9, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 MEE/(fahne and wayne;

TTRN Y June 29, 1943. s. A. wrrfrKuHNs E1' AL 2,323,267

STRAIN GAUGE FOR ROLLING MILLS AND THE LIKE Filed sept.` 9, 1939 s sheets-sheet 2 June 29, 1943. B, A wrrTKUHNs E1- AL 2,323,267

STRAIN GAUGE FOR ROLLING MILLS AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 9. 1939 6 Sheets-Sheet 25l v.lune 29, 1943.

' B.. A. WITTKUHNS ETAL STRAIN GAUGE FOR ROLLING MILLS AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 9. 1939 6 sheets-sheet 4 IN VENTORS anu/v0 A. W/TT/rz/H/vs ALEMNoERE. .sf/Ami June 29, 1943. B. A. wrr'rKuHNs TAL 2,323,257-

STRAVIN GAUGE FOR ROLLING MILLS AND THE LIKE silegsept. 9. 19:59 e sheets-sheet 5 June 29, 1943- A wrrTKuHNs- Erm. 2,325,267v

STRAIN GAUGE FOR ROLLING MILLS AND THE LIKE 'Filed sept. 9. 19:59 e sheets-sheet s Eranlgwwanr I Patented June 29,

Bruno A. Wittkuhns, Summit, N. J., and Alexander Shayne, New York, N. Y., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Sperry Products, Inc., a corporation of New York Application September 9, 1939, Serial No. 294,154

14 Claims.

This invention relates to instruments or devices for the measuring of very small distances or changes in position and more especially to devices used for the precise measurement of deilections of structural members'used in machinery, ships, buildings, bridges or other structures, where they are subject to constant or variable loads.

It is a well-known fact that any structural' member, if it is subjected even tothe lightest load or change of load, will change its shape, be

adapted to the measurement of deilections oc-4 curring -in the frames of rolling mill stands, which are subject to high pressures while rolling strip steel or other metals. The diillculty of overcom- 5 ing errors due to temperatures is especially great in hot strip rolling mills in which the metal subject to the pressure between the rolls has a temperature ranging from 1400 to 1700 degrees Fahrenheit. The rolling mill, namely, the rolls l0 and the frames, will alternately be heated by radiationl and direct conduction and after the it ever so slight. This change is always proportional to the load applied to the member and, if it can be measured, the strain may be calibrated to indicate the load applied or stress.

Instruments to measure such deections are well known and have been used extensively. The tion, due to pressure in any of it great majority of these instruments, however, are only usable for short time 0r for giving temporary indications because they require careful tion is based is the fact that due to the tremendous mass of steel contained in the frames stments vcannot be held constant of alhot strip rolling mill, temper in these members mus capacity of these large masses o ment oi the above described nature, which will dimensions thatyit takes hours to raise the average temperature of the rolling mill. Anyvchange in the shape o! rolls and the the rolls, due to temperaturechange, therefore, must be very slow andgradual. However, a sud- Aadjustment before measurementsA can be taken i and these adju over appreciable periods oi time. v

'The present invention relates to an instrugive continuous indications and which will keep r reference point from which the measurements are taken, constant by means of automatic readjustment, so that correct indications may be obtained continuously over long periods den change of the shape of the bearing frames lof time, regardless of temperature conditions, which in other instruments would cause a shift of the reference measuring point.

It is obvious that if very small changes of dimensicns or position have to be measured, on speeds up to 1000 feet per minute, the time inthe other of a fraction of a thousandth JVof an inch, it is imperative that the temperaturel of the4 uring instrument, as well as o! the measured object, be kept absolutely constant, as otherwise the next sheet enters.

The principle upon strip has passed through will cool ag Depending upon the frequency of hot strips entering the mill; its tem'- 16 perature, over long periods of time, will fluctuate widely and make any measurem 'possible except for very occurs as soon as a sheet or the rolls; which may exert a million pounds upon the she rolled. As 'the sheet passes frames supporting strip enters between pressure of several et while it is being through the mill at tervaifrom zero pressure between the rolls to maximum rolling pressure is so that the change of deflection of the exceedingly short,

frame occurs almost instantaneously.

ain until ents of deflecs members, im- -short intervals of time.

ich the present invenature changes t be slow. The thermal f steel is of such bearing the expansion orvcontraction of the instruments 40 temperature at much slower rate than the small mass and, therefore, errors are unavoidable even if the measuring instrument and the object are of the same material.

The present invention overcomes this difficulty by providing an automatic readjustment ofthe bass or reference point from which measurements are taken. .In its present form, described in this speciiication, the instrument has `been Thepresent invention utilizes this fact to discriminate between the slow changes, due to tem-4 perature, creep or other causes, and the exceedingly fast changes experienced-when a strip enters between Vthe rolls. An electromagnetic gauge is used to detect even the slightest change in the shape of the bearing frames and is utilized to generate an electrical signal proportional to such changes. Temperature changes, therefore, will cause a signal with very at wave front, low rate of change and small amplitude, while a sheet en tering between therolls will cause ahigh amplitude signal of very steep wave front and high rate of change, It is another object of this invention to provide means which automatically will operate one part of the instrument when Figures 3 and 4 show our electromagnetic gauge on a larger scale and its actuating arm in frontA and end elevations.

Figure 5 is a schematic iront elevation of a double strain gauge with all its working elements. Flgureoisawirlngdlgramofone-haltoi' Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a skeleton diagram of the reversible A. C. motor employed in the instrument.

Figure 8 is a ing principle for controlling the motor shown 1n Figure 7.

Figure 9 shows a form of strain gauge.

Figure 10 shows a further modification.

Figure 11 shows a schematic wiring diagram oi' a part o! Figure l0.

Referring now to Figure 1. thereis shown one side frame I of a "four-high rolling mill. Withblocks I and I containing the bearings for the working rolls I and I. These working rolls are driven in opposite directions by powerful motors not shown and between them the sheet te be rolled passes. 'I'he back-up rollers 4 and l have the vpurpose o! preventing undue deiiection or breakage o1' the working rolls and are, acco'rdingly, made much heavier. A large screw Il bears down sheet to decrease in thickness and if it passes through a number of rolling mill stands consecutively. it will nnally become the thickness of which is determined directly by it passes through the soon as the pressure is Figure 2 shows the lower arch in greatly simplified form as a beam Il, which is put under stress by a load I2. I! it is supported at the points Il and Il its elastic center line will deflect to conform to the curve Il. If now at the point I3 an arm II-Il, shown as a deb-dash line Il, is attached to the-beam.

may be measured between the I2 and the point I1,

tip o! the arrow will, according to the maththe point Il and the point Ill represents the actual motion of the point I l during the deflecan arm I! attached to the lower arch of the rolling mill stand I wiring diagram showing the worka thin long ribbon' electromagnetic sol in order to cause Ibut what is true message? the generation of an electrical potential in an gauge Il, which, in turn. is attached also to the same lower arch I. The actual dimensions o1' the lower arch may be up to seventy 'inches and more between the points a block 2l which, in turn, is welded to the frame I. The strain gauge I 9, consisting of a U-shaped trame 2l, a center leg 22 attached to the center of the member 2|, and an armature 23 pivoted on changes toward zero.

by arrows, flows from there through line 35 to the gauge I9. The out-put potential from the two secondary coils is returned to the same box u through unes 31, which in the schematic dxa.-

gram for simplicity are only shown as single lines, while they actually contain two or more conductors. In box 35 the gauge signal is amplified in a one stage amplifier-and from there it enters through line 35 into the main power amplifier 33 of conventional design. The out-put of this'amplifler, through line I and 4i is conducted to a line,

relay switch 52 from where it enters through 43 into the dial drive motor Il.

Said motor vis preferably of the reversible, shaded pole type and its schematic diagram is shown in detail in Figure 7. 45 is the laminated frame of the motor, I is its squirrel cage rotor,

vthe exciting coil is at l1 and '-two sets of shading Y coils 48-45' and 59-48' are shown arranged the motor to stand still with the slider 53-at the center of the potentiometer and to rotate at a speed which increases as the slider is moved away from the center. The direction of rotation of vthe motor is governed by the direction in which the slider 53 is moved.v Due to the fact that the secondary winding 5| of the transformer 55 is connected across the two shading coils and is of y low impedance, powerful, dynamic braking is available as soon as the voltage in coil 5i' This has the advantage that in ordinary application, this motor will not overrun if the voltage in coil 5l' is suddenly decreased to zero. The tendency of the armature to keep on rotating is checked also by the fact that its rotation induces a voltage in the shading coils which is exactly opposite to the voltage which caused its rotation, thereby providing a retarding torque for the armature which is the stronger the faster the rotor is coasting.

In the actual instrument, the potentiometer 52 is replaced by ,the amplifier 39, Figure 6, which performs the same action in effect. The gauge signal entering into the amplier therefore causes`the motor to run in a given direction as long as the gauge signal persists. In order to measure the amount of gauge signal and, thereby, the amount of thedeilection of the arch or the amount of pressure applied through screw III, it is necessary to stop the motor at a point where its total revolutions are proportional to the amplitude of the gauge signal. We therefore, through gears 54 and 55 connect a potentiometer A55 (Fig. 5) in such a way to the motor Il that its sliding arm 51 is turned by the motor. A constant voltage in phase with the gauge signal and hereinafter called the balancing voltage, is sup plied to the two ends of the potentiometer through line 55 from the A. C. supply, so that the slider 51 will move along points of varying potential as it slides over the potentiometer wire.

This varying potential, through line 56, is fed back to the box 35 and is. there mixed with the gauge signal in such a way that it opposes the gauge signal. It is obvious, therefore, that while -r the motor is rotating, it will cause an ever increasing potential to oppose the gauge out-put potential until both potentials are equal, at which time the in-put to the amplier 39 becomes zero,

causing the motor 4l to stop. The voltage obtained from the potentiometer and the total revolutions of the motor. nowfmust be proportional to the amplitude of the gauge signal.

Through gears and 6I we connect two chain pulleys 62 and 63 to the motor 44, so that an endless chain running over these pulleys will move in synchronism with the motor. Connected to said chain is a carriage M rolling between two metal rods by means of small wheels or pulleys. Fastened to this carriage is a pointer 65 sliding over a scale 66 which may be graduated in any suitable way to indicate either deflections or pressures. We prefer tofgraduate this 'scale in millions of pounds. At the time when the motorstops, and whenthe gauge signal is accurately balanced by the opposing signal from the potentiometer 56, the pointer 65 has reached a position at which itaccurately indicates the pressure exerted by the reaction of the bar passing between the rolls.

In order to be able to calibrate the scale to the actual pressures, it is necessary to apply known pressures by means of the screw l0 and then to adjust the balancing voltage coming from potentiometer 56 by means of an adjustlable resistance net work until the position of the pointer coincides with the actually applied presure. This net Work is also contained in box On the sameshaft with gear 6i is mounted also a chain pulley 61 Adriving another chain pulley 55. 0n the same shaft with the p ulley 65 is fastened-another pulley of the same type 69 which, by means of a chain 10, is connected to pulley 1|. To the chain 10 is fastened Aa recording pen 12 sliding over a strip of paper 13, which is rotated by a roller 14 driven from a constant speedv motor 15. The motions of the pen 12 are proportional to the motions of the pointer 65 so that, if' the paper strip 13 is moved at constant speed, the pen 12 will permanently record the motions of the pointer 65 .and thereby the pressures exerted by the reaction of the bar passing between the rolls.

The instrument as described so far would perform satisfactorily only if al1 working parts on the mill and in the instrument would be insensitive to temperature changes. As explained above, it is necessary to provide compensation for changes due to temperature and we, therefore, have provided a temperature compensation motor 16 driving-the slider 11 of a potentiometer 15. Said potentiometer may be connected in parallel to the potentiometer 56 and performs a similar function. Normally, as shown in the positlon of the switch 52, the motor 16 is disconnected from the amplifier supply, as long as a gauge signal is present. If, however, no gauge signal isvpresent and the pointer 65 returns to its zero position, then the switch 42 disconnects the motor 44 and connects the motor '16, so that from nowrvon'any signal appearing at the amplifier will be conducted in amplied form to the motor 16 which now, by turning the slider 11`,will

balance out such small signals as may be caused by slow temperature changes.- The operation of i tained in box I5.

` the output of the smpnner wul cause the dial drive motor Il to move the pointer as described before. At the time the pointer comes to rest, the out-put signal of the ampliiler 3l becomes aero, which would cause the above described vacuum tube to de-energize the relay 42. This is undesirable at this time because the dial drive motor must remain connected to the ampliiler until the dial pointer has returned to.zero. We therefore provide an electrical connection between the carriage- M and the rail 80 so that as soon as the carriage has passed over the gap between rails I and Il, the relay tube is permanently biased to maintain the relay in its correct position. This permanent bias automatically is disconnected as soon as the carriage Il returns to its zero position. 'I'he electrical connections serving this purpose are shown in the wiring diagram, Figure 6.

'Ihe gear 8| carries parallel to its face, a disk having a square cut out 82, which may be engaged by a lever-supported roller Il. Said roller enters into the slot 82 just before the carriage reaches its zero position, and a spring 8l tends to pull the pointer towards the zero point. The lever is limited in its motion by an adjustable stop Il' so that the pointer 65 can never travel beyond its zero position, while the spring holds the pointer there with a small amount of pressure, insuillcient to prevent free travel of y the pointer in case of. a strong gauge signal.

The right-hand portion of Fig. 5 is a duplicate .of the left and works in the same manner, and

the primed reference numerals used in the righthand portion refer to parts identical with those 1 designated by unprimed numerals. Y

'I'he wiring diagram, Figure 6, shows in detail the electrical connections for the system described in Figure 5. Only one half of the electrical system is shown in Figure 6 as the other half is identical in design and performance. 85 designates the first stage preamplifier tube contained in box 35 of Figure 5. The box 35 is shown in two parts in Fig. 6 merely for convenience. 'I'he amplifier 39 may be a conventional three stage pOwer amplifier and its details, therefore are omitted. 86 is the relay actuating vacuum tube, described above and con- The dial motor M and the compensator motor are shown in their correct electrical relation to the relay switch 42 and the out-put of the ampliiler 39. I'he balancing voltage. as applied to the two potentiometers 5B and 1I, is taken from a transformer 89, the primary of which is fed from a phase shifting net work 9| of known design, serving the purpose of ob taining phase alignment withthe gauge signal. The calibrating net work consists of the resistor Il and the potentiometer 92, by which it is possible to graduate the amount of balancingV voltage to be applied to the mixing net work 93, at which point it opposes the ampliiled gauge signal as it emerges from the tube 85. Also shown in this wiring diagram are the two rails 80 and 8| and the electrical connections between the carriage, the rails and vthe grid circuit of the tube Il. This tube is permanently biased as soon ae the can'iage I4 touches rail Il.

. 'I'he wiring diagram, furthermore, shows a time delay circuit, consisting of a resistor III and a condenser connected in such a way into the grid circuit ci' the relay tube l! that a strong negative bias is applied to this tube at the time the `whole instrument isnrst energized. The ampliiler ll has a conventional rectiner tube ior supplying D. C. to the plates oi the ampliner tubes and the condenser ||I| is connected to the positive side of the rectier tube to charge the condenser |I| and causes a considerable voltage drop across the resistor I". thereby preventing tube I6 from becoming active even though a strong signal may be present. Such al signal may be caused by the fact that during the last aetive operation of the instrument, temperature changes had been balanced out by the compensator which normally would have driven the pointer` into the negative. After the instrument has cooled oil' and is then started again, a strong positive signal would be present and might be of suiilcient amplitude to energize the tube Il, thereby causing the dial pointer Il to leave its zero position. This would be undesirable because "it is intended to function only when a strong signal is received from the rolling null at the time a sheet passes through. The just de scribed time delay circuit, therefore, effectively prevents erroneous accidental operation oi' the pointers. After about thirty seconds, during which time the-l temperature compensator motor has had sumcient opportunity to balance out the signal caused by the temperature diilference between the condition when the instrument was shut down and the condition when it is started` up again, the condenser is fully charged and the negative bias on tube I6 disappears, so that from now on normal operation is possible.

Figure 9 shows a modlilcation of the system as described with Figure 5 and Figure 6. Only its essential details are shown, which comprise the temperature compensator motor 1l, the dial drive motor M, the relay switch l2 and the gear train to the chain drive pulleys 82 and 6I. In this modification, the balancing voltage employed to oppose the gauge voltage is derived from a second electromagnetic gauge IM, similar to the gauge shown and described with Figures 3 and 4 except thatit has a long annature |05 controlled in its position by a micrometer head |08. The rotational position of this micrometer head which controls the amount to which the pin |01 projects from the head, is governed by a worm gear drive |08, connected .to the third arm I 09 oi' a diierential H0. The ilrst arm of this diiferential is driven by means of gears 54 and Il from the dial drive motor M, and il' the second arm ||2 of the diil'erential` is held stationary, it will rotate the micrometer head |05 until the armature |05 has usumed a position proportional to the position oi the electromagnetic gauge mounted on the null. The gauge signal coming from the mill is opposed by the signal from .the balancing gauge IM in a similar way as described before. Lines 58 and 58 correspond to lines Il and 59 of Fig. 5. Ifv no mill gauge signal is present, Ithe relay switch 42 will automatically disconnect the dial drive motor from the d'iil'erential and instead connect the compensator motor 1I to the arm ||2.

In order to make this drive self-locking, a worm gear drive ||3 is employed. Signals caused by temperature changes and hav-ing a slow rate oi trical coils and connections.

change will operate the 'motor 18 and thereby cause the micrometer |04 .to balance out such signals. If a signal of high enough rate of change and sufficient amplitude to operate the relay tube IB-Figure 6-appears, the compensator motor 16 is automatically disconnected by means of switch 42 and the dial drive motor now operates the pointer and the micrometer |04 simultaneously,

' as described before. The advantage of this .ar-

ir'phese relations and signs of .the potentiaissre correct, the two will-balance each other at a time at which-the dial pointer comes to rest..V Evi- A furthermodication of Figure 5 is shown in Figures 10 and 11. Mechanically, there is not much difference from the schematic as shown in Figure 5. The dial drive motor 44, through gears il and 6|, drives the chain pulleys 62 and i3 by means of which the carriage 6l, carrying the pointer 65 is operated. Instead of driving a rotary potentiometer to create suihcient potential of the balancing voltage, a straight potentiometer I I5 is employed along which one trolley I I8 of the carriage 64 rolls, making electrical contact between the potentiometer wire and the rail ||1. The potentiometer I I5 through several fixed and adjustable resistors, is connected across the secondary winding I I8 of an insulating transformer IIS, which is energized from the supply line through an adjustable rheostat |2I. A

condenser |22 is connected across the ysecondary coil ||8 and serves the purpose of smoothing out t-he wave form of the secondary voltage, at the same time, in connection with rheostat |2|, previding a simple means of phase adjustment. The compensator motor 16, as before, is directly connected to the movable arm 11 of a. rotary potentiometer 18 and its functions are identical with those described for Figure 5. It is energized from the same secondary winding ||8 of 'the transformer H9 and takes over .the functions of the dial drive motor automatically when no mill gauge signal is present. The balancing `voltage itself is taken to the mixing unit from the slider |23 of a range adjusting potentiometer |24 and from the slider 11 of the compensating potentiometer 10. From these two points it is connected to two points of equal potential on a mixing bridge |25, which is so arranged that the signal from the electromagnetic gauge and from the balancing voltage will add or subtract without causing interaction in their respective circuits.

The gauge exciting voltage, which has been addently, if the slider |23 of the range adjusting potentiometer |24 is moved to the left, a smaller and smaller portion of the balancing voltage is applied tothe mixing network, so that the gauge signal may drive the dial drive motor and thereby the pointer further and further along Ithe scale. It is, thereby, vpassies: to calibrate the readings of the instrument dial with great accuracy, provvided means are available to subject the mill housing to a'known pressure.

The gauge and balancing voltages, after being mixed in the network |25, enter into the power vampliiier 39 and are ampliiied until sufiicient energy is accumulated to allow operation of the motors. In Figure. 1l, the mixing network is shown slightly different from Figure l0, but the essential units are the same. The only difference is that resistor |30' is contained within the poweramplifier I! where one end of same is grounded. The condenser Ill serves the purpose of improving the wave form ofthe signal.

The dial drive motor 44 has its control winding |32, Figure 11, connected directly in series'with the control winding |33 of the compensator motor. 'I'he field windings of both these motors are energized in parallel from the A. C. supply line |22. If both motors are at their neutral position and if a signal is transmitted from the amplifier 39 through the two motor control windings |32 and |23, both motors would start to rotate simultaneously. If the signal is caused by a bar entering the rolling mill, it will have a high rate of change and large amplitude andv should operate the dial motor only. In order to prevent the compensator motor from also responding to this signal, a mechanical switch |34 has been provided (see also Figure 10) by means of which the movement of the dial motor will automatically short out the control winding of the compensator motor after a very short time interval. The dotted line |35 represents the path which the slider 64 of Figure 10 takes as it is driven by the dial drive motor. A small piece of insulating material |36 is fastened to the slider N in such a position that it will engage the spring switch |34 and keep it from 'touching contact |31 as long. as the pointer is at zero. As 'soon as the pointer moves away from zero towards y higher readings, the spring Ill will be released iusted as to amplitude and phase in the gauge signal phase adjustment unit |26, energizes the primary coil 22 of the electromagnetic gauge I9' and causes equal and opposing voltages to appear in the secondary coils 29 and 30. The gauge is here shown only schematically, leaving out the mechanical parts and illustrating only the elec- After balancing the two coils against each other to obtain perfect zero at neutral gauge position, by means of the balancing potentiometer |21, the gauge signal enters the primary coil |28 of the mixing transformer |29, the secondary of which has two equal windings in series. These two windings, together with two resistors |30 and |30', form the mixing bridge |25. It is obvious 'that across the resistor Ill' there will appear one-half of the gauge sig-l nal and one-'half of the balancing potential and makes one-half of one revolution and as it drives.

its potentiometer through a large reduction gear, the slider 11 remains practically stationary. The dial motor M receives at the same time the whole signal at its full strength and normal operation of the instrument is assured. As soon as thegauge signal disappears, the motor reverses due to the prevailing of the balancing voltage and travels back to zero, until the insulating piece |36 engages an arm |38' carried by spring switch-|38", said arm extending at right angles to the plane of the paper (in Fig. 11)'to move the one way switch to the right, a short distance from its zero position and cause contact I to engage |39. This will short through contact |39 one-half of the control winding of the dial motor 44. The result of this momentary shorting is a powerful impulse on the motor toward zero, which is desirable in order to prevent the motor from coming to rest before actual zero position is reached. 'Ihe motor, therefore, travels toward zero' with enough force to lift up spring |34, thereby releasing the blocked compensator motor and then through contact I 4| applying a partial short circuit across the same half of the dial drive motor, through an adjustable rheostat |40. As the slider reaches this position, the contact IIB snaps back into its original position. As soon as another gauge signal arrives, the slider 64 starts again but the shorting switch contacts |38, |39 cannot close now, because the wedge shaped point |36' of insulating block I engages the extreme right edge of arm |38' to cause switch III" and its contact ill to move away from contact |39. 'I'he switch contacts III-|39, therefore, are only operative when the pointer travels towards zero but not whenthe pointer travels to higher readings,

, leaving the dial drive motor free to follow even the lightest and smallest impulses once it has overcome the retarding force of its partially shorted winding. This partial short is immediately broken as soon as the dial motorstarts, oecause spring ill will automatically interrupt this circuit if the dial motor moves even very slightly.

It is evident that by connecting the two motor windings in sexies and providing an automatic mechanical throw-over switch, it is possible for this arrangement to discriminate between small signals with low rate of change and large signals with high rate of change. As long as the amplitude of the gauge signal and its rate of change is large enough to overcome the retarding effect of the partial shorting of one-half of the control winding of the dial drive motor, this motor will start and thereby not only free itself from its electric brake, but also yparalyze the compensator motor at the same time, so that gauge signals will only cause response of the dial drive motor. while slow and small signals caused by temperature changes will only cause response of and be compensated for by the compensator motor.

Figure l1 further shows a limit switch |42,

which preferably works essentially in the same manner as the one way switch III-|38. If the pointer, by an extremely large signal, is driven all the way down the scale where it finally would strike a stop, it closes switch |42 just before it reaches such stop. In the position of the switch shown in Fig. ll the relay |43 is always energized, but this is for testing purposes only. In operation. the switch is thrown to engage the lower set of contacts where the circuit is controlled by switch ill. Switch |42 is connected in parallel with switch and shorts one-half of the con- 'trol winding of the dial drive motor I, giving the motor a powerful impulse to rotate in a direcrtion towards zero. Together with the mechanical friction of this limit switch, the counteractlng force of the shorted winding is large enough to stop the dial drive motor or even to reverse it, in which case the pointer will dance back and forth until the too large signal has subsided. In this way, mechanical damage to the pointer or other sensitive parts is prevented.

We also provide an automatic levelling relay I". This electromagnetic relay may constitute a single pole double throw switch. Normally, it is in such a position as to keep the snorting circuit for the dial drive motor in operative condition. If the relay is energized, it interrupts the shorting circuit and shorts out the compensator v motor so that now there is no restraining force at all on the dial drive motor, even When it is at its zero position closing the contacts for the partial short circuit through resistance H0. This relay is used when the instrument is employed for the levellingI of a mill. At that time the mill is put under pressure by means of the screwdown motor |50 and, due to the relatively slow rotation of the screws, the pressure mounts slowly. Without the levelling relay ill, the compensator motor would respond to this slow pressure signal and continuously neutralize same so that the dial pointer would remain at zero. If, however, the relay ill is energized by connecting the same to the first master circuit breaker |5| of the screw down motor, then every time the screw down motors are operated, the dial drive motor becomes free and the compensator motor blocked, and the dial motor will follow any change of pressure in the mill caused by the operation of the screw down motor. As soon as the screw down motor is stopped, the relay snaps back to its normal position.

'Ihis feature is of special importance if, during production, the mill goes from a normal nonpreloaded condition to a preloaded condition, due to a desired change of gauge thickness oi' the material passing through the mill. In such a case, the mill operator will adjust the screw down position on the mill until he reaches a condition which, according to his experience, tells him that correct gauge thickness will be produced. This may mean that even when there is no bar passing through the mill, the rolls are in permanent contact with considerable pressure applied by means of the screw-down. When operating under such conditions, the pointers will never reach zero but will indicate the preload while the mill is idle and will show full pressure when a bar is passing through. It is evident. therefore, that by means of the automatic levelling relay, we have succeeded in making the instrument independent from manual control to perform correctly under any practical condition which may arise in the normal production.

While we have described the function and the construction of our novel magnetic micrometer and strain gauge indicator as it is applied to a rolling mill, it obviously has other applications. In fact, it may be applied to any structure periodically put under strain in which it is desirable to know 'the amount of load under which the structure is working. It is, therefore, possible to employ our instrument to great advantage in the operation of power presses, shears, hydraulic apparatus, bridges and any" other device where exact measurement of deflections is important.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, we have herein described the principle and operation of our invention, together with the apparatus which we now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, but we desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention can be carried out by other means. Also, while it is designed to use the various features and elements inthe combination and relations described, some of these may be altered and others omitted without interfering with the more general results outlined, and the invention extends to such use.

Having described our invention. whatwe claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. In a device for measuring elastic detomations of a member under stress, an electromagnetic gaugeadapted to be attached to said member and responsive to,change of shape of said member, said gauge having Ameans thereon for producing electric A. C. potentials proportional to said changes, a reversible A. C. power motor controlled by said potentials, means driven by said motor for producingan A. C. potential proportional to its total revolutions and opposing said iirst potential, means for obtaining phase alignment of said first and said second potentials, means for adding said two potentials in phase opposition to cause said motor to stop when both said potentials are of equal amplitude, and means for indicating -the total revolutions of said motor. a

2. In a device for measuring elastic deformations of a member under stress, an electromagnetic gauge adapted to be attached to said member and responsive to changes of `shape of said member, said gauge having means thereon for producing electric A. C. potentials proportional to said changes, a reversible A. C. power motor controlled by said potentials, automatic means for causing said motor to respond only to potentials of high amplitude and high rate of change, means drivenby said motor for producing an A. C. potential proportional to its total revolutions and opposing said first potential, mearis for obtaining phase alignment of said first andv said second potentials, means for adding said two potentials in phase opposition to cause said motor to stop when both said potentials are of equal amplitude, and means for indicating the total revolutions ofsaid motor.

3. In a device for measuring elastic deformations of a member under stress, an electromagnetic gauge adapted to be attached to said member and responsive to changes of shape of said member, said gauge having means thereon for producing electric A. C. potentials propor- ,tional to said changes, a reversible A. C. power motor controlled by said potentials, means driven by said motoi- `for producing an A. C. potential proportional toits total revolutions and opposing said first potential, means for obtaining phase alignment of said rst and said second potenfrom operating for a given periodl after starting said instrument.

l 5. In an automatic bearing load indicator and recorder for rolling mills, electromagnetic gauge means responsive to said load and adaptedto generate an alternating current potential proportional thereto, a reversible electric power motor responsive to said potentiai, an indicator, a recorder, means whereby said motor operates said indicator and said recorder, a potential producing means driven by said motor whereby said last named potential becomes proportional to the total revolutions of said motor, non-reacting mixing means for opposing said first potential to said second potential, separate phase shifting means for producing substantially complete phase opposition-ofv both of said .potentials so that said motor stops when both potentials are equal. and opposite, and automatic means for keeping theoutput of said mixing means at zero y duringidle periods of said rolling mill regardless of changes of temperature -of said mill or said gauge.

6. In an instrument for measuring, indicating and recording the bearing loads of a, rolling mill,

an electromagnetic gauge responsive to said load and adapted to Vgenerate an electrical potential 'proportional thereto, a pair of reversible power motors each having a control winding responsive to said potential, said control windings being connected in series, an indicating pointer and a recording pen driven by the first of said motors, means including a circuit for effecting dynamic braking of said first motor to maintain it stav tionary at zero pointer position under no-load condition of the mill, whereby the second of said motors alone responds to slow changes of said potential due to temperature changes, means driven by said first motor for rendering inopertials, means for adding said two potentials in phase opposition to cause said motor to stop when both said potentials are of equal amplitude, means forindicating the total revolutions of said motor, a second reversible A. C. power motor also responsive to said potentials and driving another means for producing A. C. potentials proportional to its total revolutions, and automatic switching means for causing said first named motor to respond only to high amplitude potentials of high rate of change while said second motor remains stationary, and for causing said last named motor to respond only to low amplitude potentials oi low rate of change while said first named motor remains stationary.

4. In an indicating instrument for indicating deflections of a member under load, diierential one of said motors to respond only to low amplitude potentials of slow rate of'change, a thermionic tube controlled by said potentials to operate said means, means for adjusting the threshold value of said tube, and time delaymeans in the grid circuit of said tube for preventing said tube ative said second motor as soon as said potential surpasses a predetermined value of amplitude and rate of change suilicient to start said iirst motor, and means i or simultaneously disconnecting saidrdynamic braking circuit.

'7. In an instrument to determine the elastic deformation of a member under stress, means 'attached to said member responsive to slow and rapid changes of shape of said member, means controlled by said means for generating an electrical potential proportional to said changes, amplifying means for amplifying said potential, reversible motor means driven by the output from said amplifier, means whereby said reversible means is adapted to be responsive only to potentials generated by said rapid changes in excess of a predetermined rate of change and means for nullifying potentials generated in response to rates of change of strain less than said predetermined rate of change.-

8. In an instrument to determine the elastic deformation of a member under stress, means attached to said member responsive to slow and ra-pid changes of shape of said member, means controlled by said means for generating an electrical potential proportional to said changes, amplifying means for amplifying said potential, reversible motor means driven by the output from said amplifier, mea/ns whereby said reversible means is adaptedto be responsive only to potentials generated by said rapid changes in excess of a predetermined rate of change, means for nullifying potentials generated in response to rates of change ofstrain less than said predetermined rate of change, means driven by said motor for producing a balancing potential proportional to the number and direction of the revolutions oi' said motor, means whereby the potential generated by said rapid changes in excess of a predetermined rate of change is opposed by said balancing potential whereby said motor is brought to rest, and strain indicating means driven by said motor.

9. In a strain indicator for rolling mills having a screw'down motor, means for rendering said motor eiIective, a power driven indicator for indicating the amount oi' strain, a temperature compensator for keeping constant the starting point from which said indicator travels, means for normally maintaining said temperature compensator effective, and means for rendering said temperature compensator ineii'ective when said motor is operating.

10. In a strain indicator for rolling mills having a screw-down motor, means for rendering said motor eiective, an indicator for indicating the amount ot strain, a temperature compensator for keeping constant the starting point from which said indicator travels, means for normally maintaining said temperature compensator efi'ective, means for rendering said temperature compensator ineiective when said motor is operating, and means actuated by the indicator for rendering said temperature compensator ineffective.

l1. In 'a strain gauge, means adapted to be secured to the bar under test to be deilected by elastic changes therein, a pivoted armature moved by the deflection of said means, dinerential transformer coils adjacent said armature, the output of which varies in magnitude and direction with movements of said armature, an indicator. reversible motive means actuated by said output for actuating said indicator, and means also actuated from said motive means for creating a potential opposing the output of said transformer which is proportional to the amount of rotation of said motive means, said opposing potential means including a second ditIerential transformer moved by said motive means.

12. In an instrument to determine the elastic defamation of a member under stress, means attached to said mem-ber and responsive to changes of shape oi said member, means controlled by said means for generating an electrica potential proportional to changes of strain. mean: adapted to be rendered effective only by potentials generated by a rate of change oi strain ir excess of a predetermined rate of change, a reversible motor, means whereby said motor ir -driven in response to said last-named potentialsI means driven by said motor for producing s balancing potential in opposition to said last named potentials and proportional to the number and direction of the revolutions of said motor whereby said motor is brought to rest, and strain indicating means driven by said motor.

13. In an instrument to determine elastic deformation o! a member under stress, means attached to said member and responsive to strain in said member, means controlled by said means for generating an electric potential proportional to changes of strain, means normally effective when the rate of change of strain is less than a predetermined rate for generating a balancing potential equal in amount -to the potential generated by said strain gauge, means for opposing said potentials. and means whereby said normally effective means is rendered ineiiectlve when the rate of change of strain is greater than said predetermined rate.

14. In an instrument to determine elastic deformation o! a member under stress, means at- 'tached to said member and responsive to strain in said member, means controlled by said means for generating an electric potential proportional to changes of strain, means normally eiective when the rate of change of strain is less than a predetermined rate for generating a balancing potential equal in amount to the potential generated by said strain gauge, means for opposing said potentials, means whereby said normally eiective means is rendered ineiective when the rate of change of strain is greater than said predetermined rate, actuating means adapted to be rendered eiective only by potentials generated by a rate oi change of strain in excess of said predetermined rate, indicating means. and means whereby said indicating means is actuated by said actuating means.

BRUNO A. WIT'I'KUHNS. ALEXANDER SHAYNE. 

